Effects Of Excessive Screen Time During Online Teaching On The Physical And Mental Health Of Medical And Dental Students.

To assess the effects of excessive screen time on the health of medical and dental students due to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted in Bahria University of Health Sciences from June 2022 to September 2022 after getting ethical approval. A total of 200 students who attended online teaching modules for at least one year through online teaching Apps, were included. A structured questionnaire was distributed using google forms. The results revealed that factors including strain on the eyes, restlessness, declined academic performance and exercise during lockdown, along with feeling connected as a group had a significant association with increased screen time. Excessive screen time has various adverse effects on the physical and mental health of medical and dental students. For improving students' physical and mental health during online teaching we need to change teaching strategies and support the introduction of flipped classroom.

Evaluation of an online "Train the Trainers" course for family physicians in Pakistan: Expectations vs reality.

Aim: Pakistan is in dire need of trained family physicians to enhance the quality of primary health care. To build capacity, there is a need to train the trainers on a large scale through a feasible and accessible program. Therefore, for the first time, a three-month online course was designed and piloted, in collaboration with national and international family medicine faculty. The aim of this study was to determine the gap between the pre-course expectations and the post-program perceptions of the participants for* a unique family medicine "Train the Trainers" course. Methods: A longitudinal-observational study was conducted at a private college of Karachi after approval from the Institutional Review Board. The expectations and perceptions of all (31) participants were recorded through a pre- and post-course questionnaire. Data were analyzed through descriptive and analytical statistics on SPSS-26. The responses to the open-ended questions were analyzed by content analytical approach. Results: Out of 20 quantitative items on the questionnaire, four were associated with a positive gap between the expectations and perceptions. One item showed a negative gap, while the rest did not show any significant difference. The majority of the participants expressed that they expected to see an improvement in their teaching skills because of the online course. Conclusion: The online course was successful in meeting the participants' expectations. The course delivery can be revisited to further improve its quality according to the participant's feedback, including an opportunity to ask questions and incorporating some face-to-face sessions.